January 7th 2019

Chapter 7
Their Home in Houston

It still felt like they'd only just moved in, when it had actually been a whole week already. If they had difficulty believing it though, all they really needed to do was to look around, on the ground floor, or upstairs, or the basement… All the boxes were gone, everything had found its place, and it looked like home… started to feel like it, too, to all five of them.

In many ways it still felt like their own private universe. They didn't know anyone here yet, not really, so no one had been there except them since the day after their arrival, when Lucas and Dylan's fathers had come with the cars and left with the truck. Eventually they'd meet people, in classes, or at their jobs, and they might invite them over, but until then it was nice, and cozy, and all theirs, and it left them very aware of how fortunate they were to have something like this.

They could not have pulled this off without help, there was no denying it. They'd saved up a lot over time, much of it going into their European adventures, and from what remained they had done their best, in keeping part of it, of course, to provide as much of what they'd need for the house on their own. But even split five ways they had needed contributions from their families, and they had received them, gladly and openly, and now that they'd been living here on their own for days, the one conclusion left to them was that… they needed to acknowledge it.

"Hey, come on, they're ready," Maya poked her head into Sophie's room, finding her sat up on her bed, reading a book which had been part of Chiara's care package. Sophie set her bookmark at the page she was on – also from the package – and left the book on her night stand before climbing to her feet and following her as they made their way down the stairs and into the living room, where Dylan was sitting on the ground in front of the coffee table, his laptop open in front of him. Lucas was already waiting on the couch, while Riley was leaning to look over Dylan's shoulder.

"Oh, they're calling, they're calling," she declared, nudging Dylan so he'd accept the call. Maya and Sophie barely had time to hop over the back of the couch and sit with the others before the screen was filled to show a group of familiar faces looking back at them from the comfort of Diana Zvolensky's sitting room. For about a minute, it was all a cacophony of the five of them giving a chorus of greetings and receiving one in return, everyone on both ends talking at once until, from the Austin side, Shawn Hunter gave a whistle that silenced the whole giddy bunch.

They'd all been in regular contact with their families over the past week, through anything from texts and phone calls to e-mails and video chats, and that was all good and fine, but this wasn't what this call was about. This was something they wanted to do as a group, as a household. It had required the organization of this little get together of the people now sitting with Sophie's mother, which included Maya's mother, father, and sisters, Lucas' mother, father, and grandfather, Riley's mother, father, and brother, and Dylan's stepmother and father. Those five families were no strangers to one another by now, but their association had changed, now that the five of them were living together, out of town.

"Thanks, Dad," Maya had smiled, responding to her father's assistance in bringing everyone to quiet. Shawn tipped his head to her. "You're all probably wondering why we asked you all to come together like this," she indicated everyone on the screen before pointing to her roommates.

"There may have been wagers," Pappy Joe declared, sharing a furtive look with Auggie Matthews, who shushed him, playing innocent as his mother gave him a pointed look.

"Look, it's nothing much, only that… we were all talking, and we thought there was something we needed to say to all of you, now that we've been here all of the past week," Maya went on. "We wanted to say… thank you. We couldn't have gotten half of this without all of you, and since it goes for all five of us, then it wasn't enough to thank our own families. It's all of you," she finished, her smile shared by the others on the couch and on the ground.

Bit by bit they had developed something of a rhythm of life in their new home, their new city. They were still figuring things out, but then that was more or less the reason why they'd made the move when they had, so they'd have time to settle in properly before they started school, could get through the start of their new jobs, too.

Maya had started at the restaurant the day before, and she had another shift that evening. When Lucas had dropped her off that first morning, for a bit of training, she'd told him precisely how she felt in that moment: she was so ready, she couldn't wait to start. She told him how much that feeling made her happy. It wasn't as though she never used to have the capability for it, but she was all too aware of the blocks that had once been in her path, most of them dropped there by her own lack of direction, her own lack of hope for herself and her future.

She had not stopped treasuring this awareness within herself, grown over the past six years, just like she treasured the growth she'd undergone. As ever, she was her own guide, only she didn't go around like her feet would never leave the ground, not anymore. In all those years she'd spent in Austin, she'd discovered she could fly, and now here she was, soaring through the clouds and on her way to the stars. She could just see them, off ahead. She would get there.

How a simple waitressing job would have filled her with as much pride as anything else would probably make little sense to a lot of people, but it made a whole lot of sense to her, and it made a whole lot of sense to Lucas, seeing her off for that day. Working at the diner, back in Austin, had taught her a lot. It was a part of her journey as much as school, as people. And since she'd left her old job she had missed that sort of contact with the world.

"I'll be back to pick you up tonight," he'd told her, as she was grabbing her things to go. He had a couple of job interviews lined up that day, and she knew that as much as he was keeping a strong front, he was nervous. They all needed to support themselves now. They'd gotten this far by their own efforts, yes, but also with their families' help, and going forward it was just them now. If he couldn't find something…

She'd leaned over the seat, giving him a kiss that felt almost too calculated for her own tastes. She'd recounted to him that night, the two of them laughing it off, how part of her had wanted to kiss him stronger than she'd done but then she'd gone the other way, not wanting it to seem like she was pressuring him to do well on his interviews.

"That's what that was," he'd chuckled as she gave a sheepish grin.

They had already discovered something of how they liked sharing words in the morning as they woke, and at night as they got ready to go to sleep, back on the trip to Europe. Of course, they'd been sharing hotel rooms with a handful of friends back then, so it had been a lot of whispering. Now, getting to have these quiet conversations together was fast becoming one of their favorite things about the Houston house. That previous night, they'd gone on and on, him about his interviews, her about her training and her first shift, and they would have been hard-pressed to find a moment when either of them had stopped smiling very long.

Now here they were, with their families on a screen, expressing deep and genuine gratitude for having gotten this far even as they awaited word of what would come next. They were still waiting on word from those places where he'd interviewed. He'd been told it would be a few days, though this didn't make the wait any easier, especially with him seeing his parents and his grandfather up there. He hadn't told them about the interviews, like it might jinx him.

Again, Maya was the only one he'd spoken to on the subject, but a part of him worried as to his chances. As he'd pointed out, the one job he'd had, at the museum, he hadn't exactly gotten unaided. His mother had pull there, like a foot in the door. What if that was the only reason he'd even gotten in, and now he'd just be some kid fresh out of high school, whose mom had gotten him his first and only job…

"… that you did really well," Maya had cut him off at once, resisting the urge to grab him by the front of the shirt so he'd listen to her and hear her. Just seeing her hand hover inches from his collar seemed to have done the same thing. "So she helped you get in, fine. Ask anyone out at that museum, they'll say you were one of their best guides. You remember when we were in London?" she'd given him a look, and the smirk had come freely upon his face. "Remember all those shirts I had to get because you couldn't help yourself, Guide Boy, sorry, Guide Man? Now, look me in the eye and tell me that is the last I'm going to hear of you doubting yourself. Say it."

"You know I'm not going to be a guide this time, right?" he'd whispered, but then, seeing her hand inch toward his collar, "Okay, okay, I swear, don't ruffle me or I definitely won't get the job," he'd laid a hand to his shirt like a shield. She'd tilted her head to him, waiting. "Thank you," he'd simply said, and she'd beamed, giving him that not-too-strong kiss.

Dylan had a job, two even, catering and coaching, and he'd started the first one two days ago. Sophie had a job, at a bakery, she was starting in two days. Riley, like Lucas, was still searching, up until just this morning, when she'd gotten a call back that confirmed she'd been hired, doing office work, of all places, for Diana Zvolensky's friend who'd helped them get the house. She'd been able to tell her parents right then and there, and to see how happy they were for her, Maya couldn't help but look to Lucas, finding he was already looking back at her, like he was thinking the same thing. Last unemployed roommate standing. A smile from her had set him back on track.

They'd finally said goodbye to their families, the call was ended, and the others had dispersed. Dylan was on grocery duty, Riley wanted to do research for her new job, and Sophie wanted to get back to her book.

"Hey," Maya had moved up to Lucas on the couch, planting her chin on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his. "You good?" He reached to clasp her hand, nodding. "Are you lying?" she gave a small smile. He let out a breath. "Right. I need to shower before work, I'm pretty sure I still smell like yesterday's special," she frowned, kissing his shoulder before rising and climbing over the couch to head on upstairs. As a whole, showers were not a fast thing, not when she had her hair to contend with, but she made well sure that this one would be on the quick side, so she'd have more time with him before work. She knew how he felt, she'd been there. It didn't mean she had to sit back and do nothing.

By the time she'd come back down, dressed in her work clothes – black skirt, white button up shirt, nothing fancy – she found him in the kitchen, looking in the fridge.

"Hey, so I was thinking…" she started to say, before she saw he had just taken out the box of cupcakes Sophie had brought from the bakery where she now worked after her interview. "Not to sound like your mom or anything, but we just had lunch," she teased, hoping to get him laughing. He gave her a look like 'why did you have to put that image in my head?' but he opened the box, pulling one cupcake out and placing it between them before reaching for a knife to cut it in half.

She didn't know how she made the leap from this to the reason behind it, but she stood up straight.

"Bookstore or coffee shop?" she asked, while he handed her half the cupcake and took up the other half for himself.

"Bookstore," he answered, now smiling, and she cheered enough to rouse the others, wherever in the house they may have been, moving to embrace him while both of them extended their cupcake-bearing arms away to prevent any frosting incidents before she had to get to work.

"Yes!" she laughed as his returned embrace turned into a one-armed lift off the ground. "What did I say? What did I say?"

"Something true, as usual," he set her back down.

"Oh, this opens up so many new possibilities, just think… literary nicknames."

"Just… eat your half a cupcake, please?" he begged, already imagining the nicknames from the moment he'd gotten off the phone with the store's owner.

"Half a cupcake, honestly, this deserves more than half a cupcake, and I am telling you we will make sure this gets the celebration it deserves," she tapped his shoulder before making her half disappear in two bites.

"Your shift," he reminded.

"After I get back," she added after a beat, like it had been part of her initial statement.

He drove her off to the restaurant, as he had done the day before, and already it felt like the evolution of their morning walks to school, or a first new incarnation at least. It was the reverse of how it had been before, of course. It used to be that they met up to go to the place where they'd be together, where now they left together before parting ways. It was kind of better that way, because in the end they would come together again. Today, it was even better, because they got to celebrate two new jobs instead of one.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners